Men of Firehouse 44: Colby and Bianca's Story

by Crystal G. Smith

  Slowly, he guided himself out of her, laying down beside her and pulling her into his arms. He could feel his heart beating against his chest, and her breath blowing across him just as rapidly.

  When his heart and her breathing calmed, he brushed the hair from her eyes and tilted her head to look up at him.

  She smiled.

  That was what he needed to see. She was, okay. No, she was better than, okay. If it had been anything for her, like it had been for him, he knew exactly how she felt right now. Fanfuckingtastic.

  She smiled, kissing his chest and then looking back up at him.

  “Mmm, you sure do know how to show a girl a good time.”

  He chuckled. “I was worried for a minute. I lost myself with you. I was afraid I had hurt you.”

  She raised her head then, looking down into his eyes, her lips turning up. “Oh, hurt, is the last thing that I feel right now.”

  “Good.”

  She nestled back down next to him, rubbing her soft fingertips over his chest. He could live like this, he thought. This could be his life and he wouldn’t miss a thing. She fit him in every way he never imagined even possible. She was perfect.

  He didn’t believe in soul mates until now. She was his. He would never be able to let her go. He didn’t even know how he was going to be able to take her home tonight. He didn’t want to. But he also knew work came to early to have her in his bed tonight.

  There wouldn’t be any sleeping involved and that would only make him exhausted and sloppy when it came to running the truck. He wouldn’t put his crew in jeopardy like that. He knew it was important to be rested, not tired, clear headed, but it wasn’t going to making kissing her goodnight any easier.

  “I would love to stay here with you all night, but I have to be at work at six.” He kissed the top of her head, breathing in the fresh smell of her hair.

  “I know. I don’t though, it’s sad that you do. We could have made this a three day weekend.” She yawned.

  He smiled. “Are you going to sleep on me?”

  “Hmm.”

  He laughed, “Come on. I wore you out.” He helped her to her feet and then dressed her before dressing himself. The trip home wasn’t nearly as long as he would have liked, but it had been a good one.

  When she stepped up into his four by four, she slid over, nestling herself next to him, and quickly had fallen asleep. How easy it would be to carry her up to his apartment and fall asleep like this for him to.

  He shook his head, not tonight.

  Chapter Ten

  -Bianca-

  The blaring sounds of sirens speeding by woke Bianca. Rolling over she pulled the pillow over her head. The only thing that really bothered her about living in the city was the noise. Trains going by at all hours of the night, fire trucks, police and ambulance sirens waking her from a sound sleep. She always worried about the people that were involved, the rescue workers as well as the victims and would even send a quick little prayer their way, but she was too exhausted to want to be awake right now. As the sirens passed, she had an eerie feeling.

  This morning’s sirens should not have been any different, but there was a queasy feeling deep in the pit of her stomach. Rising from the bed she went about her morning routine as usual still unsure of why she felt this way.

  Sunshine greeted her at the kitchen counter, rubbing her fur first on one leg then the other, purring loudly.

  “Good morning, sweetheart. You must be starving this morning.” Last night had been another lonely night for Bianca and she had fallen asleep on the couch. When she woke at around midnight, Sunshine was already asleep. Bianca felt guilty for not feeding her, but then she also knew that if Sunshine had been hungry enough, she wouldn’t have let Bianca sleep at all.

  If she had been able to rest the night before, it wouldn’t have been so bad. But remembering the night at the beach was keeping her thoughts and mind flowing like a flash flooded river. She hadn’t seen Colby in two day and she missed him. Her body missed him. She hated that her body responded so quickly when she thought of him, she almost felt like her body only wanted his body.

  Her mind kept replaying how his powerful hands had taken control of her body. How his mouth, his tongue and cock had made her come four times. How her mouth watered just thinking about his taste on the back of her throat.

  “Shit!” She cursed herself. “You’re not making it any easier on yourself.” She said out loud as she felt herself start to stir again.

  Bianca shook her thoughts of last night and set Sunshine’s dish of food on the floor along with a small dish of milk. She kneeled down, petting the soft fur, “What is wrong this morning my little ray of sunshine?” The cat didn’t seem interested in the food as she rubbed her face against Bianca’s arm.

  Picking her up, she strolled into the living room and curled up in the corner of the couch. “I can’t help but have a bad feeling this morning, too. I wonder what is going on out in the world today.” Snuggling up to the kitten, she was glad it was the weekend. She needed a break after the last couple days at school and then the other night with Colby. It had been absolutely wonderful. She didn’t regret it a bit, but she was exhausted. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t snuggle up close to Colby if he was there with her. Or other things.

  It was too bad this was his weekend to work at the firehouse. She so could have thought of things that would have pacified their time. As a matter of fact, she had thought of things. Many things. Wednesday night at the beach, had only been the start.

  It had been fun meeting his friends, they were a great group of guys. But nothing had compared to the night spent by the bonfire after they had left. Just thinking of it spurred her heart into a round of flutters. She didn’t want to get deeply involved with anyone at this stage of her life, but she was afraid it was too late for that. He was the first thing she thought of in the mornings and the last thing at night. He invaded her dreams, leaving her feeling all hot and bothered until she was forced to take matters into her own hands. Literally.

  “Well, I guess it’s you and I today, girl. What are you feeling up, too? Don’t really have any plans? Okay. How about if we just veg out here on the couch and watch some TV?” She had long ago given up feeling strange at talking with her four legged friend. She didn’t talk back and her secrets were safe. Picking up the remote, she began flipping through the channels, talking to Sunshine the whole time.

  “Hmmm, Three men and a baby. I will prove one of you is my baby daddy. Not today, it’s too early for that.” Continuing to flip the channels she went past two more talk shows, divorce court and a cooking show. “Really? There’s never anything on the TV when I want to watch it.”

  Flipping again, she stopped on a local station. “A local house was filled with flames when firehouse 44 arrived on the scene. We haven’t been able to determine if anyone is in the home at this time. Neighbors say the mother usually came home late at night and they knew of one child that lived there. Whether they were home when fire started is unknown. Stay tuned to Channel 8 as we continue to bring breaking news as it occurs.” The news reporter moved from in front of the counter to allow a shot of the little yellow house with flames shooting out of the roof.

  “Oh my Sunshine, may anyone in the house be safe.” Standing, she moved back to her room almost in a trancelike walk. “Why does that house look familiar?” Pulling out fresh jeans and a t-shirt with a rose covering the left side, she began to dress for the day. She had decided she might as well get her weekly shopping done and she thought about dropping by Crystal’s to see if she wanted to run to the mall with her. She had a feeling Victoria Secrets was going to be seeing her more and more. She planned on surprising Colby on his next night off with something sexier than her two piece.

  She had just pulled on her sneakers when her phone rang. Looking down at it she saw it was from Crystal. “Hey we must be on the same wavelength today.” Talking into the phone, she picked up her purse and started to the door.

 
“Bianca, Where are you?” The quiver in her friends’ voice brought her to an immediate stop.

  “I’m at home. What’s wrong? Did something happen? Where are you? I can be right there.” Knowing her friend did not get upset over little things, Bianca knew this was bad.

  “I’m at the shop. Have you watched the news this morning?” The panic in the voice was adamant.

  “I flipped through a little. Why? Crystal what is going on?” The nauseating feeling returned stronger than it had been this morning.

  “Turn it on. Channel 8.”

  She gripped the remote tightly as she sat on the corner of the couch and watched in horror as the small body of a child was placed on the stretcher. She was unable to see the face for all the paramedics loading the little one into the back of the ambulance.

  The camera flipped back to the news reporter, “The identity of the child is unknown at this time. We do know that the house was occupied by a woman by the name of Angie Stahl and her daughter Tiffany. Again, we are unable to identify the victim at this time.”

  The camera again flashed towards the house as two fireman stumbled out of the house dragging a third fireman between them. A stretcher was quickly pushed to them and they lifted the man onto it. Quickly EMT’s had oxygen applied and they proceeded to the second ambulance to load their patient into it.

  Bianca sat with her hand over her mouth as she watched the nightmare unfold in front of her eyes. Poor Tiffany. Her heart ached for her.

  “I have just been notified that the fireman do not believe there is anyone else left alive in the house. Because of the intensity of the fire, they are pulling out all the rescue workers at this time. Their main concern right now is getting this blaze under control.” The news reporter talked as the cameraman took one last sweep of the scene stopping occasionally when he came upon one of the fireman.

  Holding her breath, she kept her gaze to the screen as she searched the faces of the men. She already made out Elliot and Brett. She was almost positive they were the two that had brought out their friend. Where was Colby and Drew?

  “Excuse me, sir” the reporter approached one of the fireman. Bianca held her breath as she waited for him to turn around. Praying that it would be Colby’s face she saw. Somehow knowing it wasn’t going to be him. “Sir. Can I have a moment of your time?”

  Watching the screen as the man turned and removed his hat, she felt her heart fall to the floor as an anguished cry ripped from her lips. Sinking onto the couch she waited anxiously for news of Colby.

  “Bianca? Bianca… Bianca! Answer me.” She could hear her friend’s voice calling her from a distance. Looking down at the voice, she knelt and picked up the phone that she had dropped unknowingly.

  “I’m here, I’m okay. I think I am going to head over to the hospital. Yeah, I think I need to be there.”

  “Bianca, listen to me. I will come get you. You do not need to be driving. Just wait there, I am on my way.” The sense of urgency was apparent in her voice. “Bianca, listen to me. Say you will wait for me.”

  “Yeah, Yeah. I’ll wait for you here. Please hurry. I need to see Colby. I think he was the fireman they loaded.” Dropping the phone again, she curled up on the couch hugging a pillow close to her. “Oh Lord, please let him be okay. I love him and I can’t imagine my life without him. Please be there for, Tiffany. That little girl has been through so much in her short life. Please stand by her. Amen.” It was then that her words had hit her. She loved him. She hadn’t thought about what to say when she was praying, she never did. She always let her heart do the speaking. Apparently her heart knew before her brain. She hadn’t known him long, and she loved him.

  “Bianca! Open the door, I’m here.” Running to the door, she fell into her friends arms. “Oh honey, everything is going to be okay, I promise. Come on let’s get your purse.” Brushing the hair from her friends face. “Oh, Wait. You can’t go anywhere like that. Colby is going to be scared to death if he sees you looking like this.” Dragging her into the bathroom, she turned her to the mirror.

  The sight that looked back at Bianca was not recognizable. There were streaks of mascara running down her cheeks and her nose was swollen and red.

  “I don’t really care what I look like, I just want to see him.”

  “I understand that, but I’m sure the first face he wants to see is not one that is swollen and run with makeup. Now let’s get you cleaned up and over there to see the man of your dreams.”

  Hastily they reapplied her makeup and were on their way to the hospital in a matter of minutes.

  -Colby-

  Colby ordered the guys around, telling them what to do, how to do it, and the safest way possible. But when he pulled up and learned that there could be a kid inside, he knew he had to go in. The place was going to come down at any minute and he wouldn’t be sending in his men while he ran the ground this time.

  He geared up, SCBA in place, and went in. He hadn’t even let his back up man know he was going in. That was the rule, and he had just broken it. No fireman was to enter a building alone. Whether it was in flames or just smoking, it was a buddy system.

  He could feel the heat through his gear. It was hot. Most likely the only body he would be rescuing wouldn’t be a breathing one, but he had to try. If there was a chance, even an inkling, he was going to take it.

  With the first floor clear, he moved up the steps to the second.

  “God Damn it! Colby please tell me you aren’t trying to be a fucking hero?!” Drew called out over the radio.

  He could hear him loud and clear through his radio. “Not a hero man, just trying to save a life.” He responded.

  “Where are you at, we are coming in after you?” Drew yelled.

  “Hell no! Stay put. That’s a fucking order. This place is going to go any minute and I don’t need to be worrying about my men in here while I’m trying to search the place and get my ass out.”

  “Fuck you! Get your ass out of there or I’m coming in.” Drew yelled.

  “I said stay put!” Colby yelled back. He couldn’t take the chance of his men coming in and the building going and taking them with it. “I need radio silence so I can hear.” He said.

  He moved into the first room, watching as the flames ate their way across the ceiling. This wasn’t his first rodeo. He had learned a long time ago, fire was a living force, and you couldn’t reason with it. It ate everything it touched, it survived off of oxygen, and it died by smothering it. It was definitely a living thing.

  “Hello!” He called out. “Anyone in here. Fire department!” When he was sure the room was clear, he moved carefully down the hall to the next room. The door was closed. He had to be careful when opening the door, knowing that it could cause a back draft. He removed his glove, touching the door knob. It was heated, but not from the fire on the inside.

  He looked up at the ceiling one last time, and kicked the door in while landing on the floor. The flames washed over the ceiling in the smoky room. That was when he heard the scream.

  “Help!”

  He found her, curled up in a ball in the corner. He stayed low, crawling towards her. Her breathing was erratic and she was coughing uncontrollably.

  Then he did the one thing that he shouldn’t have. He removed his mask and sealed it over her little face.

  “Take deep breaths. I’m gonna get us out of here, but I need you to keep breathing and don’t panic, okay?” He watched as her eyes began to get heavy. She only nodded slightly. She had heard him, but she was losing consciousness and fast. He needed to get her out and fast.

  He made his way back out in the hall, carefully ducking as the fire all but tried to hit him. Moving quickly, he began to cough himself. He tried to hold his breath, taking in only what he needed.

  He made it down three steps before he felt them give and felt himself fall.

  ‘HOW MANY TIMES ARE WE going to go through this?” Drew asked.

  “Hey! I have a patient to tend to, if you wanna yell at
him, you’re gonna have to wait until later to do it. I don’t care who the hell you think you are.” The nurse scolded him.

  “Fine.” He replied.

  “Look, it’s over. I wouldn’t and couldn’t let you guys go in there.”

  “Really? It’s a good thing I decided not to listen to your bullshit order and go in. You would be a fucking crispy critter right now if I hadn’t.”

  Colby thought about it. He couldn’t argue that. There wasn’t any basis to stand on. But the point was he was okay, and so was the child that he had went in after.

  “So, the girl, was she burned any?” They had told him that she would recover but hadn’t told him if she was injured or if it had been just smoke inhalation.

  “No. But your jacket is going to need replaced. Sure singed the fuck out of it. You should be glad it didn’t eat right through to your skin.”

  “My jacket?” How in the hell had his jacket gotten so burnt. They were fire retardant.

  “When we found you, you had her curled up underneath you and your jacket was burning.”

  “Wow, had never heard of that before.” Colby looked across the room, realizing how lucky he was. But that didn’t change things any. Even if he knew what could have happened, what did happen, he would do it again.

  Drew went on to ride his ass for what seemed like another half an hour, but it was music to his ears when his nurse spoke.

  “We will get you a room and move you upstairs. The nurses are always glad to see the men from firehouse 44. I’m sure they would rather it not be in the hospital though.”

  He knew once he was moved upstairs, Drew would leave and he would have some damn peace and quiet. After this, he would no doubt have a few days off work and he needed to be rested up for seeing Bianca.

  The last time this happened, he had gotten three days off. This being the weekend, it would give him a few days with Bianca. The only problem was, talking the doctor into letting him go home tonight, instead of in the morning. That would give him Saturday night and all of Sunday with her. Maybe into Sunday night if things went well.